War Day 223: Stabbing in Old City, 5 Soldiers Killed by Friendly Fire

War Summary, Day Two Hundred and Twenty Three: In the Old City of Jerusalem a man tried to stab a Border Police officer but was eliminated before he could do any harm, five IDF soldiers were inside a building when a tank unit saw their guns through the window, misidentified it as a terrorist base, and fired two shells at them, and last night a Hezbollah attack drone hit a sensitive military facility in the Tiberias region, in the Lower Galilee.

By Mrs. Bruria Efune

War Summary, Day Two Hundred and Twenty Three:

132 held captive in Gaza.
112 hostages freed.
12 hostage bodies rescued.
41 hostages confirmed murdered in Gaza.
1,512 Israelis killed.
274 fallen soldiers in the battle in Gaza.
14 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
5 fallen soldiers in Judea & Samaria.
13,670 estimated rockets fired at Israel.
90,000 Israelis displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Top Headlines:

• Two Thai hostages confirmed killed
• Hamas still firing on Kerem Shalom Crossing
• 6 fallen IDF heroes
• Expansion of the operation in Rafah
• Gallant hints that troops found Hamas smuggling tunnels
• Israeli delegation to propose new management of the Rafah Crossing to Egypt
• The U.S. aid pier and port is near completion
• Continued escalation in the north – Hezbollah uses missile launching drone and attacks in the Lower Galilee
• Two terror attacks in Judea and Samaria
• Canada imposes sanctions on four Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria
• Arab summit to call for a ceasefire, Palestinian state, and release of hostages

Hostage Updates:

The IDF and Foreign Ministry notified the families of two hostages from Thailand, Sonthaya Oakkharasr and Sudthisak Rinthalak, that new intelligence confirms that were killed on October 7th, before their bodies were taken hostage. The two had been working in agriculture in Kibbutz Be’eri.

The IDF verified the deaths of a total of 41 hostages in Gaza. While there are several others who Hamas say are dead, or rumors indicate they may be, the IDF has not confirmed those.

Gaza Front Updates:

Hamas fired rockets at Israeli communities on the Gaza border four times today, including twice at the Kerem Shalom crossing from where humanitarian aid is being transferred to Gaza, and which is adjacent to a small civilian town.

The IDF announced the names of 6 heroes who fell in battle:

Cpt. Roy Beit Yaakov, 22, from Eli
Staff Sgt. Gilad Arye Boim, 22, from Karnei Shomron
Sgt. Daniel Chemu, 20, from Tiberias
Sgt. Ilan Cohen, 20, from Karmiel
Staff Sgt. Betzlel David Shashuah, 21, from Tel Aviv
Sgt. Maj. (res.) Ran Yavetz, 39, from Modiin

The first five are all soldiers from the Paratrooper’s brigade, who were killed in an unfortunate incident in Jabaliya, Northern Gaza. The soldiers were inside a building, when a tank unit saw their guns through the window, misidentified it as a terrorist base, and fired two shells at them. The sixth soldier was killed in an incident on a base right outside Northern Gaza, in a munitions explosion. Both incidents are being probed by the IDF, to understand what went wrong.

In Northern Gaza, the operation in Jabaliya is ongoing, and troops on ground together with the Air Force have so far eliminated over 150 terrorists, and destroyed a large amount of rocket launchers and rockets—some of them long-range. The troops also raided Hamas bases which were deeply embedded in civilian populations, including in schools and next to humanitarian shelters. Several terrorists were arrested in the raids, as well as in checkpoints on the way to humanitarian zones, where the IDF uses AI technology to identify known Hamas militants.

The operation in Zeitoun has ended, after IDF troops eliminated over 100 terrorists, found Hamas headquarters in a UN school, and located significant intelligence materials and Hamas weapons. The troops were withdrawn and are preparing for another operation.

In Southern Gaza’s Rafah, the operation has expanded, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said it will soon expand further, and more troops will be deployed to the area. The Defense Minister hinted that the troops have already found several smuggling tunnels into Egypt, saying “a number of tunnels in the region have already been destroyed – the Hamas taps are getting shut off.”

Reflecting the optimism of troops in Rafah, Gallant also said: “Hamas is not an organization that can regenerate itself now, it has no reserves, it has no ability to manufacture weapons, it has no supplies, it has no munitions, it has no ability to properly treat terrorists who are injured, and the meaning is that we are wearing it down.”

With the assistance of drones, troops located and destroyed several rocket launchers which had been used to launch attacks on Israel in recent days, including the barrages on Be’er Sheva. Troops also eliminated a number of terrorists, located and destroyed more tunnel shafts and weapons caches, and destroyed dozens of Hamas military sites.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke to the soldiers in Rafah over the radio, telling them: “The battle in Rafah is critical. It’s not just the rest of their battalions; it’s also their oxygen pipes back for escape and supply. This battle, of which you are an integral part, is a battle that decides many things in this campaign.”

Gaza Humanitarian Efforts Updates:

Egypt continues to keep the Rafah crossing closed, in protest to the IDF’s takeover.

According to Barak Ravid, Israeli officials will be approaching Egypt with a proposal for the management of the Rafah crossing. The agreement would allow the transfer of people and fuel through the crossing, and other aid will enter via Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing. The crossing would be operated by Gazans who are chosen by Egypt and vetted by the IDF. UN personnel will also be present, and will act as a buffer between the Gazans and the IDF presence, which will remain for the time being, to ensure that Hamas doesn’t use the crossing. According to reports, the U.S. is involved in the proposal. This is also the first glimpse at a possible Hamas replacement system inside Gaza.

The Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings are open, and aid is arriving to Gaza via multiple routes: from Jordan, the Ashdod port, and Judea and Samaria.

365 trucks of aid were transferred to Gaza today.
76,000 liters of fuel were transferred yesterday (Wednesday) for World Food Program operations.
The four major hospitals that Hamas operated out of and are treating patients again.

The floating pier for bringing humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip was successfully connected; In the upcoming days, trucks will begin entering.  IDF Spokesman: The connection of the floating dock to the humanitarian aid has been completed, the entry of the trucks will begin in the coming days. Preparations were carried out in recent weeks by the Engineering and Construction Division at the Ministry of Defense, the Southern Command’s Engineering Array, the 563 Construction Division, the Navy, the Technology and Logistics Division , coordinates the government’s operations in the territories and in cooperation with the US Army.

The floating pier constructed by the U.S. Army for the transfer of humanitarian aid to Gaza was successfully connected to the port build by IDF troops on the shores of Northern Gaza, and will soon begin operations bringing aid to Gaza via the sea.

Northern Front Updates:

The IDF confirmed that last night a Hezbollah attack drone hit a sensitive military facility in the Tiberias region, in the Lower Galilee. One soldier was seriously injured in the incident. Reports indicate that the drone hit a grounded missile detecting balloon, which was not in use. IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari emphasized that the attack caused no damage to Israel’s air defense systems. It appears that two drones were intercepted on the way to the area today, one over the Kineret (Sea of Galilee).

Over 130 sirens sounded in Northern Israel today, with showers of Hezbollah missiles and drone attacks, including a barrage of between 40-60 missiles at the Golan Heights, some were intercepted, others landed in open areas, one caused a small forest fire.

In a concerning incident today, a Hezbollah drone entered Israeli territory, and then from a close range, launched two missiles at an IDF position near Metula, before crashing. One soldier was seriously injured, and two lightly.

The IDF confirmed that the airstrike in northeastern Lebanon’s Baalbek last night targeted a Hezbollah weapons manufacturing plant, which had been used to build drones and guided missiles.

The IDF struck a large number of Hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon today, including a direct strike on a moving vehicle with two Hezbollah terrorists, who the IDF says were on their way to carry out an attack on Israel.

Hezbollah announced that 300 terrorists of theirs have been eliminated by the IDF since the October 8th—the IDF estimates that the number is higher. Hezbollah also published the death of Mohammad Fars, who was eliminated today, and was an engineer who had studied in Iran.

Houthi & Iraqi War Front Updates:

The IDF has not yet released an explanation, but there was significant Air Force activity over the Arava and Eilat skies, along the eastern-Jordanian border.

Judea and Samaria Updates:

In the Old City of Jerusalem, a man tried to stab a Border Police officer, but was eliminated before he could do any harm.

In Howard, a Palestinian in his car called to an IDF officer (an NCO) for help, and then stabbed the officer through his window when he came close. The officer is hospitalized in moderate condition. The terrorist was caught after a few hours.

IDF forces are currently making a number of arrests and interrogating wanted persons throughout Judea and Samaria, focusing on stopping the transfer of terrorist funds, primarily in the Tulkarm region. Forces have also eliminated three terrorists who planted road bombs and fired at troops.

International Updates:

Canada has imposed sanctions on four Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria “in response to violence against Palestinians,” the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced. The four are David Chai Hasdai, Yanon Levy, Zvi Bar Yosef, and Bar Shavit, who have already appeared on the sanctions lists of the USA, the UK, and the European Union.

According to reports, the Arab countries at the Arab Summit in Bahrain plan to issue a joint statement calling for the deployment of an international force in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire in the war, and the release of the hostages. The draft of the concluding statement will include a call for the establishment of an international conference to “solve the Palestinian issue.”

At the summit, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said, “The attack that Hamas carried out on October 7 on its own initiative provided Israel with excuses for the attack on Gaza.” He also called for a two-state solution, and called out the U.S. for supporting Israel at the UN.

Middle East analyst and expert, Seth Frantzman, believes that Hamas’s goal with October 7th is to take power in the Palestinian territories in Judea and Samaria, where the ruling Fatah party is very weak, and at the verge of being overthrown. Hamas is hoping that the Palestinian Authority will receive statehood, and then Hamas will use their rising popularity to kick Fatah down, and take over—just as they did shortly after Israel disengaged from Gaza in 2005.

A Hezbollah drone entered Israeli territory, and then from a close range, launched two missiles at an IDF position near Metula, before crashing. One soldier was seriously injured, and two lightly.